When news broke that Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane was ruled out until March with a hamstring tear suffered in the 1-0 defeat to Southampton on New Year’s Day, you would have forgiven manager Jose Mourinho for fearing the worst for his side.
Throughout Mourinho’s illustrious career as a manager, he has enjoyed success with a focal point at the centre of his attack. Think Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Inter Milan, Didier Drogba in his first spell at Chelsea and Diego Costa in his second spell at Stamford Bridge. Having such powerful forwards has complemented his pragmatic style of play well and has helped him earn a plethora of trophies in the process.
At Tottenham, Kane was expected to play a similar role for Mourinho. While the England captain does not possess pace or particularly sharp movement, he remains a physical presence up front and his finishing ability is matched by very few around Europe. With natural wingers in Son Heung-Min, Lucas Moura, Erik Lamela and now Steven Bergwijn, Tottenham’s attack under Mourinho was taking shape.
Son Heung-min is an Effective Plan B for Jose Mourinho
Son Heung-min Has Been a Good Back-Up
Since Kane suffered his injury at St. Mary’s, Mourinho has had to change to a Plan B. With no similar striker to Kane both in terms of style and quality, the next best option was to move one of his wingers out of position and hand him the responsibility of leading the line.
That man was Son Heung-min, who is no stranger to being deployed in such a role – he did so towards the end of the 2018/19 season after Kane suffered ankle ligament damage. The South Korean was particularly prominent in Spurs’ run to the Champions League final that season, despite being the antithesis of Kane – fast, nimble, sharp in his movement and a tireless runner when need be. The time had come for the same to happen again.
As a result, Mourinho has gone from his usual cautious approach to a more open style, featuring quick passing and runners in behind. It has taken time but Spurs appear to be hitting their groove – this is the first time in over a year that they have won three successive Premier League games.
Development Under Mourinho
Sunday’s last-gasp 3-2 victory at Aston Villa was a perfect example of a Spurs side developing under Mourinho but in an atypical way. Their 23 shots were the most they have had in any away Premier League game in the past three seasons and the most, both home and away, since the opening weekend of the season.
“It was a performance with a fantastic mentality, personality and desire to win,” Mourinho said afterwards. “I think it is the match since I arrived when we created the most chances. We had so many chances to score and not just the chance that arrives occasionally but the chance that we build and that we really work for. Beautiful football.”
At the heart of their improved form has been Son, who is thriving as a central striker. He now has six goals in his last five appearances and came up with the crucial winning goal at Villa Park, capitalising on Bjorn Engels’ mistake and slotting home in injury time. Although the 27-year-old was wasteful in goal during the match, his threat remained significant throughout.
“The problem with Son and Lucas, especially these two guys, is that they have to play 90 minutes every game,” continued Mourinho. “That is the problem with them. If they run out of fuel then we are in trouble. But their quality as players is fantastic and their attitude towards the team is absolutely incredible.
“I am so pleased for them that a team without Harry – the team is obviously finding difficulties – but in the middle of the difficulties we are finding a different way to play football and a different way to create opportunities and to score enough goals to put ourselves in a position fighting for a good position in the table.”
Song Heung-min is Bringing Out the Best in Others
The impressive form of Son as a central striker under Mourinho’s new approach has also culminated in the improved form of others around him. Lucas Moura was threatening all afternoon in a slightly deeper role against Villa, while Bergwijn created three chances and took four shots himself during the match. Even Dele Alli, who has endured a difficult season, was able to find space as a result of the movement of Son, Lucas and Bergwijn.
In addition, Giovanni Lo Celso is having an increasing influence as a creative playmaker. Despite not starting against Villa, the Argentine didn’t take long to have an impact on the game after coming off the bench. Two clever through balls, one to Serge Aurier down the right and the other to Son, resulted in good Tottenham chances.
While questions still remain about Tottenham’s defence – they have conceded 17 goals in 14 league games since Mourinho took charge – their increasing fluidity in attacking is a positive sign that their squad can adapt to different styles of play.
Spurs still have plenty to play for this season, with a UEFA Champions League tie against RB Leipzig awaiting on Wednesday before a very winnable FA Cup fifth-round tie against Norwich City on March 4. With Manchester City being handed a two-year ban from all European competitions, hope has been raised that a fifth-place finish will be enough to secure Champions League football.
Harry Kane’s injury may have initially been seen as a blow, but the improvement of Spurs, and particularly Son Heung-min, under Mourinho shows that this is a side who could be in for an exciting run-in to the end of the season.
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